When Kleef’s comment drew a muttered chorus of agreement, Arietta added, “The Seasilver fortune is lost no matter what.” She could scarcely believe her own words, but she had no doubts about their truth. “At least this way, there’s a chance we might be able to return and recover some of it.”
Balen looked around at his fellows, then reluctantly nodded. “When you put it that way, I guess we have no choice.”
“Good.” Kleef turned to Grynwald. “You take charge of that.”
“As you like,” Grynwald said.
Though it did not escape Arietta’s notice that all of her father’s men were quicker to acknowledge Kleef’s authority than her own, now hardly seemed the time to make an issue of it. She merely nodded her approval, then turned aft.
“I don’t suppose the shades have been keeping Her Grace in one of the family cabins?”
“No, my lady.” Grynwald pointed forward. “They’ve had her in the Stink.”
Arietta’s heart fell. “I was afraid of that.”
She started forward, barely noticing as Kleef fell in beside her. The Stink was the crew’s nickname for the Wyvern’s brig, a cramped little cabin tucked into the forepeak of the ship. She could not imagine her mother surviving twenty hours in there, much less twenty days, and she felt her stomach clenching with every step she took.
Kleef insisted on leading the way as they slipped through the bulkhead and into a dim aisle flanked by open bunks. At the far end stood a pair of officers’ cabins and the barred door that led into the brig. After pausing a moment to check for lurking Shadovar, Kleef nodded and motioned Arietta forward.
And that was when Jang’s voice rang out from the hatchway behind them. “There is yelling. I think it is coming from the Lonely Roamer.”
Arietta heard Kleef curse under his breath, and they both turned to face the Shou.
“Can you see what’s happening?” Kleef asked.
Jang shook his head. “The fog is too thick. But one voice belongs to Carlton, and another to Captain Greatorm.”
Arietta did not waste time asking what had gone wrong. Clearly, Greatorm had failed to reach the hidden passage in time, and soon Joelle and Malik and the others would be fighting for their lives.
“We have to go back,” Arietta said. “If Yder is catching up to them-”
“Arietta?” The voice was muffled and brittle, and it came from the other side of the brig door. “Is that you?”
Arietta closed her eyes-mostly relieved to hear that voice-then said, “Yes, Your Grace. We’ll have you out in a minute.”
“What are you doing here?” the grand duchess demanded. “I had hoped you had escaped.”
Kleef looked from the door to Arietta, then whispered, “Jang and I will go back to the Roamer.” He turned to leave. “You see to Her Grace.”
Arietta caught him by the arm. “No, wait.”
“Arietta?” Elira called. “Are you still there?”
“Yes, Mother.” Arietta squeezed Kleef’s arm, hard, and said, “You wait.”
Kleef sighed, but nodded. “Just make it fast.”
Arietta released Kleef and slid the bar aside, then pulled the door open to reveal a dark cramped cabin barely four feet wide and five feet long. Her mother sat on the edge of one of the two bunks, holding a bandaged hand and blinking into the dim light. She looked dirty and frail and starving, and Arietta’s heart ached at the sight.
“Hello, Your Grace,” Arietta said, stepping through the door. “Come out of there.”
The grand duchess studied Arietta for a moment, then looked away. “I’m not sure I can,” she said. “Perhaps you should have your man carry me.”
Kleef made a disgusted sound. Arietta turned to see him glaring down at her with an expression of impatience.
“I’ll meet you at the bow,” Arietta said. “Just bring the skiff up.”
Kleef turned on his heel and started down the aisle. “That’s a small skiff, my lady,” he said. “It might be better if you stayed behind, in case we need to pick anyone up.”
Arietta put some authority into her voice. “Then leave Jang.” When Kleef did not even slow down, she quickly added, “What are you going to do if Yder starts hurling magic at you? Throw your sword at him?”
Kleef stopped at the bulkhead and nodded, then turned to Jang. “You take command here,” he said. “Don’t let the Shadovar retake the ship. Sink it, if need be.”
“Sink it?” the grand duchess demanded, suddenly finding the strength to rise to her feet. “Do you know to whom this ship belongs?”
Arietta slipped an arm around her mother’s shoulders. “He knows, Your Grace,” she said, guiding her across the threshold of the brig and out into the aisle. “And he’s absolutely right. We’re at war.”
Kleef nodded without looking back. “I’ll see you in one minute,” he said, turning to ascend the companionway. “Don’t be late.”
The grand duchess tensed. “Arietta, did that man just give you an order?”
“I wouldn’t call it an order,” Arietta said, guiding her mother down the aisle toward a wary-looking Jang. “It’s more of a suggestion.”
“I know an order when I hear one,” the grand duchess said. “Who is he?”
“He’s a topsword in the Watch,” Arietta said. “And one of the men who helped take the Wyvern back … and rescue you.”
“So he’s common.”
“He’s far from common,” Arietta said, thinking of Kleef’s skill with a sword. “But he’s not noble.”
“Then what …” The grand duchess stopped to turn and peer up at Arietta. “Don’t tell me you’ve taken a watchman as a lover!”
Arietta felt the heat rising to her cheeks. “You must be delirious,” she said. “Kleef is a better man than most lords I know, but what you suggest wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“When has that ever stopped you?” the grand duchess demanded. “Singing in taverns, fighting in the streets like a regular man-at-arms. Why not bed a watchman for good measure?”
“Now you’re just being rude,” Arietta said. “Kleef risked his life to save you.”
“As well he should have,” the grand duchess retorted. “If you had just listened to your father, none of this would …”
The grand duchess stopped abruptly, but Arietta was already reeling, her heart aching as if from a blow. Her mother had just given voice to her own worst fears, and now she found herself floundering in a sea of doubt again, wondering whether her faith in Siamorphe was just a spoiled noblewoman’s silly fantasy after all.
“Arietta, I didn’t mean to say that you’re responsible,” the grand duchess said. “Only the Shadovar are to blame-”
“It’s quite all right, Your Grace,” Arietta said. “I understand exactly what you meant.”
They reached the bulkhead. Arietta removed her arm from around her mother and turned to Jang.
“The grand cabin is in the stern,” she said. “Would you see that Her Grace is made comfortable and given food and water?”
Jang cast a wary glance at the grand duchess, then said simply, “Yes.”
“Thank you.” Arietta started up the companionway, but stopped halfway up and glanced back down at her mother. “And, Jang, do remember that you’re in charge.”
CHAPTER 8
Kleef was on the rowing thwart, facing aft and propelling the little skiff through a miasma of gnomish fog. The sky above was yellow-gray, the surrounding air was yellow-gray, and even the sea upon which they floated was a rippling yellow-gray reflection. The Wave Wyvern had dimmed into gray nothingness over a hundred oar strokes ago, and he had no way to tell how far they had come-nor even which direction they were traveling.
But the agate on Watcher’s crossguard was growing steadily brighter as he rowed, and occasionally he could hear a voice call out somewhere beyond his shoulder. So far, none of the voices seemed to belong to Joelle, and that gave him hope. Whatever was happening, she and Malik were taking care to stay hidden, and that could only mean that the Eye of Gruumsh remained safe.